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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
British jury says speed, alcohol to blame for Princess Diana's death (10:20 a.m.)
LONDON -- Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were victims of reckless speed and a drunk driver on a frantic, fatal chase through Paris in 1997, a British jury ruled.
Rejecting claims by Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, that the couple was murdered, the jury concluded Monday after six months of testimony that the couple was unlawfully killed - the equivalent of manslaughter - by their driver, Henri Paul, and the paparazzi who pursued them.
"The verdict is unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes" carrying the couple, the jury foreman announced.
That was the verdict of nine of the 11 jurors. There was no indication why there were two dissenters.
All 11 agreed that that the fact that the car slammed head on into a concrete pillar, rather than striking the wall on the other side, was a key factor. The jury also faulted Diana and Fayed for not buckling their seat belts.
Jurors laid blame on the couple's driver, Henri Paul, who had been drinking shortly before he, too, died in the high-speed crash in a Paris underpass on Aug. 31, 1997.
Jurors also found that the paparazzi who chased their car through the city had behaved recklessly and also were responsible for the deaths.
Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, issued a statement expressing support for the verdict and thanking the jurors for their long work.
"We agree with their verdicts, and are both hugely grateful to each and every one of them for the forbearance they have shown in accepting such significant disruption to their lives over the past six months," the princes said.
Al Fayed, to no one's surprise, declared that the jury got it wrong.
"The most important thing is, it is murder," Al Fayed said as he left the Royal Courts of Justice.
The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, had instructed the jury that there was no proof whatsoever for Al Fayed's contention that the couple was victim of a murder plot led by Prince Philip and carried out by British secret agents.
John Stevens, the former chief of London's Metropolitan Police, said the verdicts vindicated the force's two-year investigation.
"What they have said, of course, is that the deaths were caused by Henri Paul and also by the paparazzi," Stevens said. "If you read the report, you will see that's exactly what we said."
Because the accident was in France, no British charges could be laid against the photographers.
Nine of them were charged with manslaughter in France, but the charges were thrown out in 2002. Three of the photographers - Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez and Fabrice Chassery - were convicted of invasion of privacy for taking pictures of the couple, and were each fined euro1 in 2006.
The couple's deaths came six weeks after romance bloomed while Diana and her two sons were guests of Mohamed Al Fayed in southern France.
In following weeks, they shared sea cruises, dinners in Paris and even a helicopter trip in England. Fayed showered Diana with lavish gifts, including a ring, which may or may not have been intended to seal an engagement.
When the couple flew to Paris on Aug. 30, 1997, they were pursued from the airport by paparazzi, who swarmed outside the Ritz Hotel - owned by Mohamed Al Fayed.
Hoping to shake off the paparazzi, Dodi Fayed agreed to a plan to sneak out the back way in a single car. At least three photographers were not fooled, and the chase was on.
Dodi Fayed died instantly when the couple's Mercedes, traveling in excess of 60 mph (95 kph), slammed into a concrete pillar in the Alma underpass in Paris at 12:22 a.m. Medics initially thought Diana would survive her own severe injuries, but she died at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital around 4 a.m. Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees survived the crash.
French police announced, a day after the crash, that tests on Paul's blood showed he was three times over the national drunk-driving standard.
The finding was disputed, and British experts said the French documentation could have been better. But even Al Fayed's security chief discovered that Paul had downed two double Ricards - equivalent to four shots of whiskey - in the hours before taking the wheel.
Al Fayed has spent lavishly to investigate the crash and propound his theory; taxpayers have paid a heavy price as well.
The expense of the inquest, including lawyers and staff assisting the coroner, has passed 3 million pounds (US$6 million; euro3.8 million).
The amount does not include the cost of lawyers representing London police and the Secret Intelligence Service, nor the 8 million pounds (US$16 million; euro11 million) the police force says it spent on its own two-year investigation.
John Loughrey, who painted the names of Dodi and Diana on his face before attending the inquest every day, gave the verdict his approval.
"I'm happy for Diana, now she can rest in peace."
But it may not be over. Fayed's aides were not ruling out an appeal, perhaps arguing that they coroner erred in instructing the jury or in conducting proceedings.
"That is a very difficult route but we are keeping all our options open," said Al Fayed's spokesman, Michael Cole.(AP) |
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